9 Tips to Help You Master HBO GO and HBO Now StreamingControl What Kids See

9 Tips to Help You Master HBO GO and HBO Now Streaming

It's not TV, it's HBO (but it's kinda also not just HBO either).

Evan Dashevsky

April 13, 2019, 6:45 a.m.

HBO is what's known as premium cable—a channel that doesn't come with a basic cable package and requires an additional monthly fee. But with so many streaming options, that's sort of an outdated concept these days.

Still we owe our current era of prestige TV to HBO, which produced shows like The Sopranos, the first cable show to win an Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series, and is about to debut the final season of Game of Thrones.

HBO was also ahead of the pack with its standalone streaming service known as HBO Now. This on-demand service makes HBO's content available on any connected device as soon as it is broadcast (or with a short delay for live content). Now was preceded by an identical service, HBO GO, which provides on-demand access to HBO content for those who subscribe via their pay TV provider.

If you have HBO, there are a number of tricks and features you may not even know about. Let's see what you may be missing.

Control What Kids See

While you might feel comfortable trusting your tablet to babysit your little ones with a few episodes of gentrified Sesame Street, you might be more hesitant to allow them to spend time in the oft-orgiastic world of Westeros. HBO understands your concerns.

To that end, HBO includes a Kids Lock feature, which keeps tiny fingers and eyeballs confined to age-appropriate content and makes search unavailable. This function allows parents to hand their phone, tablet, or remote over to the little person in their life and feel confident that they won't be subjected to any of Tony Soprano's signature shirt-on trysts.

To enable it on either HBO GO or HBO Now, tap the hamburger menu () in the top-left corner > Kids > tap the lock icon at the top of the screen. If you are using the lock for the first time, you will be asked to create a four-digit passcode; if you already have one, enter it in the pop-up screen.

To break the lock and return to full debaucherous functionality, just tap the lock and enter your password again (in my experience, there can be a bit of a delay for the break to register, have some patience).

On both services, you can also turn on full parental controls. Tap the hamburger menu and select Settings > Parental controls. You'll be asked to create and/or enter your four-digit PIN. You can then set age restrictions for TV content and movies on the main account or sub-accounts (Y, Y7, G, PG, 14, or MA). Controls are similar on the web.

Watch From Your Browser

Speaking of the web, you can access HBO GO and Now on any browser at play.hbogo.com and play.hbonow.com, respectively, including your Watchlist and Continue Watching sections (we'll get to those in a bit).

Save It for Later in 'My List'

If you come across something you want to watch later, tap the little arrow (>) underneath the movie or TV episode and tap "Add to My List" on the next page. To find it later, tap the hamburger menu () and select My List, where everything you've saved will be listed. On the web, look for the "+Add" button; the My List link is on the top-right.

Continue Watching Across Platforms

HBO offers a seamless cross-platform viewing experience. Under My List, you'll also find the Continue Watching section, which features content you started but have not yet finished. So if you started watching that Theranos documentary via Apple TV, you can pick up where you left off from your phone on the commute to work.

Video Playback Options

If you have a habit of going over your monthly data limit, limit your playback to Wi-Fi. Go to Settings > Video Playback and select how you want to stream. WiFi Only will only let you watch if your device is connected to Wi-Fi, Cellular Playback Warning will display a warning before you watch something over cellular, and Continue Watching will stream on Wi-Fi or cellular without any warning about data.

Want to See What's Coming?

HBO has a ton of original content, but it still licenses plenty of movies, which are added and removed from the service just as they are on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Hulu. To find out what's coming and going on HBO, head to HBO's website.

Avoid Outdated On-Demand Interfaces

This tip's primarily for the HBO GO, though it works for HBO Now, too. Though you subscribe via your cable package, meaning you can watch live on TV or access recent content on demand, pay TV on-demand interfaces often leave much to be desired. Instead, invest in an affordable media streamer, like Google's Chromecast, and you can send the latest episode of Veep or Last Week Tonight from your mobile device to the TV with a few taps. Just make sure your phone and Chromecast are on the same Wi-Fi network, and look for the Cast icon.

Get Some Voice Assistance

Do you have a smart speaker in your home? Stop tapping and scrolling and ask Alexa or the Google Assistant to pull up the next episode of Insecure.

Alexa: If you have an Amazon Fire TV, Fire TV Stick, or Fire TV Cube, as well as an Alexa-enabled device (like an Echo smart speaker) or Alexa Voice Remote, link your Fire TV to you Alexa gadget (here's how). Make sure you have the latest version of the HBO app on your Fire TV, and then you can talk to Alexa. Here's a list of commands she can execute.

Share Your HBO Login (HBO's Cool With It! Sort Of)

Are you HBO-less, but know someone with access to GO or Now? Good news! You can just use their logins to watch...within reason. HBO's official TOS language says that you are allowed to share your credentials with members of your "household." The exact definition of "household" is somewhat nebulous but if you keep things to three simultaneous streams, you'll be fine.

About the Author

Evan Dashevsky is a features editor with PCMag and host of our live interview series The Convo. He can usually be found listening to blisteringly loud noises on his headphones while exploring the nexus between tech, culture, and politics. Follow his thought sneezes over on the Twitter (@haldash) and slightly more in-depth diatribin' over on the Facebook. See Full Bio